Amendment to Act to be extended to Sabah, S’wak

KUALA LUMPUR: The Children and Young Persons (Employment) (Amendment) Bill 2018 which was approved in the Dewan Negara yesterday, will also be extended to Sabah and Sarawak.

Deputy Human Resource Minister Datuk Mahfuz Omar during winding up debate said it would be done through amendments to the Labour Ordinance (Sabah Chapter 67) and the Labour Ordinance (Sarawak Chapter 76) in mid-2019.

“The ministry has been working with the Sabah and Sarawak Labour Departments as well as the state government on the amendments to be implemented in Sabah and Sarawak.

“Upon approval by the (respective) state governments, the tabling of the amendments will be done in mid-2019,” he said at the Senate last night.

As part of the amendments to the Bill, individuals found guilty of employing children under 15 years may be subject to a maximum of 5 years imprisonment, for repeat offences.

Among other amendments are the raising of fines from not more than RM5,000, to not more than RM50,000 and for repeated offences, they could be fined up to RM100,000.

The Bill seeking to amend the Children and Young Persons (Employment) Act 1966 or Act 350 was approved unanimously by members of the Senate.

The Bill was passed by the Dewan Rakyat on Oct 17.

In the meantime, the council also approved two other Bills namely the Street, Drainage and Building (Amendment) 2018 Bill and Road Transport (Amendment) Bill 2018.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar when winding up the Road Transport (Amendment) Bill 2018 said the ministry would consider the fees to be charged for using tinted film or glass which exceeded the stipulated limit.